


Wonderful, Wonderful

by awesomesockes



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: 90's AU, Alternate Universe, Artist Steve Rogers, Blood, Creepy, Creepy Fluff, Dark Tony Stark, First Meetings, Gen, Mild Horror, Thriller, Tony Stark Has Issues, no powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:28:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23720839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awesomesockes/pseuds/awesomesockes
Summary: Steve is excited to be moving into his new apartment. That is, until he meets his eccentric new neighbour: Dr. Anthony Stark, the landlord’s son.
Relationships: Steve Rogers & Tony Stark
Comments: 9
Kudos: 30





	Wonderful, Wonderful

**Author's Note:**

> thanks to [bethany](http://whumphoarder.tumblr.com/) for helping this story out lmao

Steve’s new flat was a two-bedroom apartment located on the fifth floor of an old brick building—featuring no elevator—in the centre of Manhattan. Under normal circumstances, such a place would’ve been impossible for him to afford, but in this particular complex, the rent prices hadn’t increased since it was built in 1876 due to an old and binding contract. 

Steve couldn’t have been luckier, though he was a little curious as to why the previous tenant had stayed less than three weeks. But as a struggling artist with a fairly sporadic income, this was a deal too good to pass up and he didn’t pay much thought to the particulars.

As he climbed the rickety staircase, Steve got his first glimpse of how ancient this building really was. The original green wallpaper was ripped in multiple places, leaving it peeling down the wall or lying on the floor in small piles. Dust was covering every surface and the window facing the yard was so dirty he could hardly see out of it. Steve was beginning to question if the landlord had lied about having running water and electricity. Clearly the minimal rent didn’t cover the cost of a groundskeeper. At least the ceiling was more or less intact, excluding the large crack that ran above his head. 

Sneaking up the staircase was pretty much impossible. It was old and worn — almost all the white paint had peeled away — and it creaked and groaned with each step. But despite all its flaws, Steve couldn’t deny that the building was beautiful. Every piece of wood seemed to be original to when the building was first built more than a hundred years ago. It was just the kind of thing he needed to inspire his art projects.

He stopped climbing when he met a partially-open door on the floor above his own. Surprisingly, it looked even older than the rest of the house, except for the newly polished bronze sign hanging on it that read ‘Dr. Stark.’

Steve had only wanted to take a quick look ;  after all, this building was to be his new home and it’s always good to know who your neighbors are. But the moment he stuck his head forward to read the rest of the sign, the door swung open.

Steve jumped back in surprise and almost fell back down the stairs. Out came a well-dressed young man, probably in his late twenties—much like Steve himself—in an expensive-looking black suit, his blue tie hanging loosely around his neck. Most of his hair was neatly gelled back, though some pieces were ruffled and out of place, as though he’d recently done something physical.

Nothing about that sight would’ve been odd, except for the fact that his hands, face, and white shirt were all spattered with blood.

“Oh, hello,” the man said, letting go of the black garbage bag he’d been dragging behind him. It made a loud thump as it hit the ground. “Sorry, do you have an appointment?” 

“An appointment? I... No. No, I just moved in downstairs,” Steve tried nervously, pointing to the floor.

“Oh, you must be Steven then! I’m Anthony Stark —m y family owns the building. You can call me Tony.” He smiled widely, exposing dazzlingly his white teeth, before stretching out his hand. 

They both stood in silence, staring down at Tony’s blood-covered appendage. Steve hesitated. He wanted to be polite—this was the owner’s son after all—but he also really didn’t want to touch whatever was on Tony’s hand.

“Maybe handshakes are for later...” Tony mumbled and pulled back, his smile unfading. “Where are you headed?” he asked, wiping the back of his hand across his forehead, which only smeared the blood more and made Steve squirm.

“Just the attic. I’ve got some, uh, stuff. I wasn’t... lurking or anything.” 

“Oh, I don’t mind,” he said lightly, eyes still locked on Steve’s. The man wasn’t breaking eye contact at any moment. “Humans are curious by nature,” Tony added with a chuckle.

Steve offered a nervous smile before finally daring to glance over Tony’s shoulder and into the apartment behind him. From what he could see, the interior was pristinely clean and ordered, almost obsessively so, with the exception of what looked to be a moderately-sized puddle of blood on the ornate rug at the end of the hall. 

The uncomfortable silence was interrupted by a tiny scream coming from inside. Steve’s eyes widened in surprise, and he looked back at Tony, who continued to smile like he was posing for a toothpaste ad.

“That’s just the TV,” Tony assured, obviously noticing Steve’s concern.

“But it sounded so — ”

“I have surround sound,” Tony added quickly. 

Steve swallowed thickly and nodded. He didn’t really feel like arguing with the man. After all, he was covered in blood. 

It didn’t take long before he heard the noise again, and this time Steve swore he could see something shift in Tony’s eyes. Something almost animalistic.

“Will you excuse me for a second? I’ll just go turn it off, hold on.” Tony said in a voice that was scarily calm.

“Actually, I was just about to leave…” Steve tried. 

“No!” Tony burst out, his stiff smile faltering for the first time. Steve froze in shock, not daring to do anything else. “No, please. Please stay. I’ll be quick.” The man in front of him reverted to his former wide smile, once again exposing his fake-looking white teeth.

“O-Okay,” Steve quietly consented. 

Tony turned and disappeared inside, leaving Steve alone with what he hoped was just Tony’s trash, despite the bag having a very suspicious shape. Being straight out of art school, Steve had been witness to some quite interesting situations, but this was creeping up his top ten list, fast.

Ten seconds and a loud ‘bang’ later, Tony returned to the doorway, this time followed by a trail of crimson footprints.

The blood on his face seemed to have been refreshed, and was now dripping onto the collar of his blazer. Steve tried not to gag.

“You-You’ve got something...” Steve drew his own shaking hand to his chin.

Tony copied Steve’s movements and wiped his left hand against his jawline, before looking at it. “Oh, this? That’s just blood.” It came out as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Of c-course,” Steve murmured. 

“Is there anything I can help with? Or perhaps you’d like some coffee?” Tony’s grin this time was so piercing that it actually made Steve feel a bit violated.

“N-No thanks!” Steve blurted and nervously swung the bag he was holding. “I’m fine, honestly.”

“Another day, maybe?” 

**X**

Hours later, Steve collapsed, exhausted, onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling with mixed feelings. It  had been both a long and weird day, and despite it being two a.m., he could hear Tony moving around energetically upstairs through the thin walls separating the two apartments. 

The creaking of his steps was combined with what sounded like... sawing. Something told Steve his new eccentric neighbour wasn’t exactly building a bookshelf at this hour. The song “Wonderful, Wonderful” by Johnny Mathis began playing quietly, and judging by the quality of the sound, it was an old LP version.  _ Fitting,  _ Steve thought to himself.

Between Tony’s whistling along to the music and the sound  of the saw moving steadily back and forth through whatever object it was cutting,  Steve could’ve sworn he heard a distant dripping noise, even though it wasn’t raining outside. Though the building did contain some pretty old pipes.

It sent a chill down his spine, and he began to question if this was such a good arrangement after all. Maybe it was nothing, but he still couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling lingering in his gut telling him to get the hell away from this place. 

_ //Sometimes we stand, on the top of a hill _ _   
_ _ And we gave at the earth and the sky _ _   
_ _ I turn to you, and you melt in my arms _ _   
_ _ There we are, Darling, only you and I _ __   
_ What a moment to share, it’s wonderful, wonderful _ _   
_ __ Oh, so wonderful, my love//

Steve decided he’d probably decline the coffee invitation. 

**Author's Note:**

> come hang on tumblr [awesomesockes](http://awesomesockes.tumblr.com/)


End file.
